Post Office workers vote to strike

Union members in the Post Office have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.

Members of the CWU have announced the action after what they describe as ‘allowing a series of announcements this year of cuts to jobs, services and staff pensions’.

The union has warned that the Post Office is on the path to extinction and has said the Government must now intervene to avoid strike action.

Following the 83.2% vote for industrial action, the General Secretary of the CWU Dave Ward said: “staff in the Post Office face 2,000 job losses this year, the closure of their pension scheme and a strategy of slash and burn from the board of the company. The Post Office is at crisis point and the government has to step in.

“The government separated the Post Office from Royal Mail and declared it would be safe in public hands. In reality we have seen public funding being withdrawn, falling from £210m in 2013 to £80m this year, and a complete failure from the board to grow its revenues to make up for this. Staff and customers are the ones who are paying the cost.”

“We have a very simple demand. The government has to step in, convene a summit of key stakeholders and hammer out with us and the board a strategy that will give the Post Office a future. It cannot wash its hands of this and simply stand by as a national institution goes under. Just as we have seen with Tata steel, this is another clear example of the government having no plan whatsoever to stand up for British industry.”